Planned Parenthood cut could threaten 64K in Connecticut

By Tatiana Cirisano

Published 12:00 am, Sunday, August 2, 2015

The GOP’s age-old spat with Planned Parenthood heated up this week when Republicans pledged to defund the group, even if it means a government shutdown. It’s a threat that hits home for 64,000 patients in Connecticut who depend on the health care provider.

Pro-life Republicans seized this month on videos that appear to show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of aborted fetal organs. Planned Parenthood denies the claims.

The organization says a lapse in funding would hurt patients who turn to the group for cancer screenings, sexually transmitted infection tests and other services — not just abortion.

“For many of our patients, we are the only provider they will see all year,” said Judy Tabar, CEO of Planned Parenthood Southern New England, which oversees 17 facilities in Connecticut, including clinics in Bridgeport, Stamford and Danbury. “They rely on us for their basic health care.”

Abortion accounts for three percent of Planned Parenthood’s work, while the rest is dedicated to preventive care. Tabar said that one in five women have received care from a Planned Parenthood center in her lifetime.

“So that’s what’s at risk here,” she said.

The Senate is expected to vote Monday on a bill to defund the group. In the House, 18 Republicans have joined presidential hopeful Ted Cruz’s pledge to force the issue by blocking a federal spending bill that must pass by Sept. 30.

The move would risk a government shutdown.

In an emotional speech on the Senate floor Thursday, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., condemned these efforts.

“You're not playing with politics when you talk about shutting down the government over defunding Planned Parenthood,” Murphy said. “[...] You're playing with people's lives.”

Connecticut’s tally of Planned Parenthood patients once included Murphy’s wife, Cathy, who he said used the group for basic health care in her early life.

Murphy reminded the Senate that it is already against the law to use federal dollars to fund abortion services, and criticized Republicans for attacking Planned Parenthood as a matter of party politics.

“We're going to shut down the government in order to take health care away from 64,000 women in Connecticut, all in order for a handful of people to make an ideological point that may get them some additional votes within a Republican presidential primary?” he asked.

The group currently rakes in just over $500 million in federal funds, making it possible to offer a sliding fee scale.

Planned Parenthood denies Republican allegations that they harvest baby organs for profit, though the group does allow women who receive abortions to donate the fetal tissue for stem cell research.

But their statements haven’t stopped thousands from joining “Women Betrayed” rallies across the country — including one in Stamford on Tuesday — to call for an end to Planned Parenthood’s funding.

Peter Wolfgang, the Executive Director of the pro-life Family Institute of Connecticut, is urging an investigation into the videos released by the Center for Medical Progress.

“[Planned Parenthood] literally are in the business of taking lives,” he said. “It should not surprise us that they are doing other unethical things, or possibly illegal things.”